1 April 1999 Edition
COCK-UP OR CONSPIRACY?
By Seán Marlow
Over the years, those of us on the left who have made serious allegations about the sinister role of the business/political/military establishment in Ireland and internationally, have often been accused of fanciful conspiracy theories. But just because youre paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. And recent events have demonstrated that we were actually too naïve and not nearly sceptical enough.
The endless tribunals in Dublin have already revealed corruption and fraud on a scale that few could have imagined (even though none of the guilty have gone to jail and probably never will). The recent revelations of RUC/Loyalist/Brit Intelligence collusion in hundreds of sectarian killings and the cover-up of the Dublin/Monaghan bombings would have been dismissed as wild republican propaganda only a few years ago.
Now we discover that the South's forensic scientists were given the forensic evidence on the killing of 33 Irish citizens for the first time last Tuesday, 25 years later, by Don Mullan! The names of the RUC/Brit planners have been known for many years but none of the guilty have gone to jail and never will. So when it comes to the bombing of Serbia, Kosovo and, incredibly, Montenegro, which was opposed to Milosovic, it is so stupid and counterproductive that it at first seems like a cock-up.
The NATO bombing is illegal in international law and subverts the UN's role in international conflict resolution and may lead to its demise. It alienates China and Russia and could dangerously destabilise Russia (as the attack on the US embassy illustrated) and the whole Balkans region.
The aggressive military action has strengthened Milosovic in Serbia and given him cover to close down independent media (like Radio B92 and Radio 021). Worst of all, and this was highly predictable, it has brought down a massive humanitarian disaster on Kosovar Albanians and exacerbated divisions, thus making a lasting settlement much more difficult. Indeed it seems that large-scale ethnic cleansing and the partition of Kosovo will result and we've seen what a failure that has proved in Ireland.
The sheer hypocrisy of NATO can be seen in the involvement of Turkey in the bombing of former Yugoslavia. For decades Turkey has carried out massive repression and genocide against the Kurdish people. Not only has it escaped even the mildest sanctions by the West, but it has been armed to the hilt by the USA and Britain.
The US and France, claim to be concerned about the suffering of the Kosovar Albanians, but both state's actively prevented UN troops from acting to stop the Rwandan Hutus slaughtering 800,000 Tutsis in 6 weeks in 1994.
Although Ireland is not partaking in the aggression in the Balkans, there is no shortage of armchair warmongers here. While Fine Gael and the Progressive Democrats prattle on about decommissioning the few weapons the IRA needs to protect nationalists in the north, Gay Mitchel and Des O'Malley support the cowardly use of massive armed force against the people of Serbia. And they want Irish troops to be part of it! At least they are honest about their militarism. The same can't be said of Fianna Fail, who gave a clear manifesto pledge not to join the misnamed Partnership for Peace (PFP). Now they are doing a 180-degree turn and planning to join this nuclear-armed military block. Instead of joining this NATO front the FF/PD government should work to restore the primacy of the real partnership for peace- the United Nations.
Over the years, those of us on the left who have made serious allegations about the sinister role of the business/political/military establishment in Ireland and internationally, have often been accused of fanciful conspiracy theories. But just because youre paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. And recent events have demonstrated that we were actually too naïve and not nearly sceptical enough.
The endless tribunals in Dublin have already revealed corruption and fraud on a scale that few could have imagined (even though none of the guilty have gone to jail and probably never will). The recent revelations of RUC/Loyalist/Brit Intelligence collusion in hundreds of sectarian killings and the cover-up of the Dublin/Monaghan bombings would have been dismissed as wild republican propaganda only a few years ago.
Now we discover that the South's forensic scientists were given the forensic evidence on the killing of 33 Irish citizens for the first time last Tuesday, 25 years later, by Don Mullan! The names of the RUC/Brit planners have been known for many years but none of the guilty have gone to jail and never will. So when it comes to the bombing of Serbia, Kosovo and, incredibly, Montenegro, which was opposed to Milosovic, it is so stupid and counterproductive that it at first seems like a cock-up.
The NATO bombing is illegal in international law and subverts the UN's role in international conflict resolution and may lead to its demise. It alienates China and Russia and could dangerously destabilise Russia (as the attack on the US embassy illustrated) and the whole Balkans region.
The aggressive military action has strengthened Milosovic in Serbia and given him cover to close down independent media (like Radio B92 and Radio 021). Worst of all, and this was highly predictable, it has brought down a massive humanitarian disaster on Kosovar Albanians and exacerbated divisions, thus making a lasting settlement much more difficult. Indeed it seems that large-scale ethnic cleansing and the partition of Kosovo will result and we've seen what a failure that has proved in Ireland.
The sheer hypocrisy of NATO can be seen in the involvement of Turkey in the bombing of former Yugoslavia. For decades Turkey has carried out massive repression and genocide against the Kurdish people. Not only has it escaped even the mildest sanctions by the West, but it has been armed to the hilt by the USA and Britain.
The US and France, claim to be concerned about the suffering of the Kosovar Albanians, but both state's actively prevented UN troops from acting to stop the Rwandan Hutus slaughtering 800,000 Tutsis in 6 weeks in 1994.
Although Ireland is not partaking in the aggression in the Balkans, there is no shortage of armchair warmongers here. While Fine Gael and the Progressive Democrats prattle on about decommissioning the few weapons the IRA needs to protect nationalists in the north, Gay Mitchel and Des O'Malley support the cowardly use of massive armed force against the people of Serbia. And they want Irish troops to be part of it! At least they are honest about their militarism. The same can't be said of Fianna Fail, who gave a clear manifesto pledge not to join the misnamed Partnership for Peace (PFP). Now they are doing a 180-degree turn and planning to join this nuclear-armed military block. Instead of joining this NATO front the FF/PD government should work to restore the primacy of the real partnership for peace- the United Nations.